Roadside Retro Revamp

The first piece of mid century furniture that I collected was a hall table spotted on the roadside. It had been thrown out by a neighbour and was headed to landfill.  

Mid century furniture can fetch a fair price on eBay and in vintage stores, but many people see it as junk (in particular my mum). Not me though!

The table had good bones masked with 70's style. A black glass top, teak veneer shelves and drawer and atomic wooden legs. The most dated feature would have to be the faux gold handle and feet.  

I have held onto the table for two years waiting for the right time to resurrect it, now the time has finally come!

A good sand back and re-varnishing brought the timber back to life and removed the 70's orange. Strangely the timber smelt musty as I sanded it back. Four decades of dust perhaps?

Three coats of stain and varnish modernised the colour and added a glossy sheen to timber surfaces. The drawer front was a little too damaged so I covered it up with some white aquanamel paint left over from my last project.  The gold feet and drawer handle were updated with some black enamel paint. 

The outcome - the little table headed for landfill is now a funky piece of furniture in our hallway.

Family Bathroom

One of the hardest things to design and implement in the house was the main bathroom.  There were so many things to consider. Appearance, child friendliness and ease of cleaning were at the top of my list.

 

After deciding on a theme of charcoal, timber, white and steel throughout the house, the design was suddenly easy.  The main bathroom is basic, with a matt white tile on the wall and a charcoal tile on the floor.  The walls sometimes don't even look like they've been tiled. While not to everyone's taste, I love the minimalist appearance.  I look forward to adding some more decoration in the future when the kids are a bit older. A book and wine holder for the bath perhaps?

 

The freestanding bath was a big gamble. I expected it to be an absolute pest to clean but it isn't. My floor swiffer does a great job of cleaning around the outside and if we have a problem with mould in the future, I'm sure a good dose of Exit Mould will do the trick.  By not having any edges or shelves around the bath, there is no choice but to store the kids toys in the cupboard. It makes the bathroom easier to clean because I don't have to pack up everything covered in dust and grime first. The bath makes the space look bigger.  I just wish we'd had space to have a bath like this all to ourselves!

 

The search for the right vanity took months. Mostly because I was trying to spend a modest amount of money but have a modern looking vanity.  Two thousand dollars for a vanity just seemed a bit over the top! The length of our search was probably aided by the level of my indecision. Poor Rob, he was tortured with week after week of bathroom shops. I'm sure he would have thought that they all looked the same.

 

One of the nicest touches that really finished the bathroom off is the square set cornice.  The tiles reach right to the ceiling and are met by the gyrock in a crisp clean line. A great job by the tradies involved.

 

There is something special about bathrooms. They are personal spaces where you can't help but feel relaxed. While the bathroom doesn't look like this everyday, I love enjoying it while it does. All in all, a beautiful bathroom that is contemporary and family friendly.

Simple and flexible in style.  At the moment a splash of pink for the girls.

Lots of room to move around the kids at bath time

A little bit of heaven for the adults